Letter-box.



yJ. A. STBINMETZ.

LETTER BOX.

APPLIOATION FILED APR.13,.1909.

Patented June 22, 1909.

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"7M Ca@ `t which slides down upon JOSEPH A. STEINMETZ, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA. i

LETTER-BOX.

To alt whom. it may concern:

.Be it known that I, JOSEPH A. STEINMETZ, a citizen of the United States, residing in the4 city of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Letter- Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

My improvements relate more particularly to letter boxes provided with exterior flanges ni combination with a base piece having counter-flanges engaging therewith and a detachable catch for automatically engaging such parts together, and it isthcir primary object to provide means for preventing tanipering with the catch or the separation of said parts excepting through the box.

Inusual forms of' mechanism for supporting letter boxes, it is possible to disengage a spring which connects a flanged shoe on the box with a flanged base piece or bracket, commonly fixed to a post. This may be done. by inserting a long blade, wire hook, or the like between the shoe and bracket and withdrawing the spring on the bracket from its engagement with a hole formed in the shoe. By my iinprovements ett'eetual guarding means are provided so that it is impossible to 'tamper with the spring and provision is made for the better engagement of the spring, which in existing coiistructions sometimes fails to etl'eet. a secure connection. l

The characteristic features of my improvements are disclosed in the following description and the accompanying drawings in illustration thereof.

In thel drawings, lligure l is an end elevation of a letter box connected to a post by means of my improvements; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of' mechanism embodying my improvements, taken on the line 22 of' Fig. 3, Fig. 9 is a rear elevation of the same with parts broken away for the purpose of showing -the interior construction; Fig. 4l is a sectional view taken on the line Limit of ltig. 3; and Fig. 5 is a. bottom plan view of the construction.

As shown in the drawings, the post 1 has fixed thereto the base piece or bracket 2' and the letter box 3 has fixed thereto the shoe and is held by the part 2, The bracket 2 is provided with holes 5 through which screws may be passed to secure it in position, with the outwardly extending vertical flanges 6 adapted lfor Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed April 13,

and thin knife- Patented Time 25%, 1900i. 1909. serial' No. 489,596. i

l `guiding and holding flanges on a shoe, and.

tlie letter box, with the vertically disposedy inwardly inclined, flanges 9 movable on and held by the flanges 6 on the bracket, and with the hole 10 adapted for receiving the free end of the spring 7 to prevent the shoe from being disengaged from the bracket.

In usual constructions, the flanges 9-Jand the flange 11 joining them at the top of the shoe form a guard which prevents access to the spring from the top or sides, but access can be had by means of' a thin instrument through a straight joint o n the line 12 between the shoe andthe flange 13 on the bracket, which has heretofore ended at the line l2, so that by inserting a suitable tool between this flange and the shoe the latter can be sprung outward and the spring detached.

In my improved construction, I have formed a lip 13 on the flange' 13, Which lip crosses. and closes the otherwise straight joint on the line 12. A projection or flange lt, extending' beyond the General surface of the shoe at tlie bottom (L the hole l0, is provided for the better engagement ofthe tree end of the spring 7. larallel flanges or ribs 15 extend longitudinally of the shoe on oppositesides of the spring 7 and hole 10 so that if the lip 13 is broken off and a tool inserted through the joint, the guards provided by the flanges t4 and 15 will prevent the engagement and withdrawal of the ment with the projection or flange 14. It willbe observed that' all joints, in line With said spring, are covered so that an instrument cannot be passed through any of such joints to said spring as might otherwise oet-ur. l

l'laving described my invention, I claim:

l. A letter box having thereon a flanged shoe with an aperture therein, in combination with ay flanged base piece on which said shoe is adapted to slide, a spring'fixed to said base piece and adapted to engage said 'shoe `within said aperture, a flange on said base piece and flanges on said shoe covering all joints in line with said spring.

2. A letter box having thereon a shoe with inwardly extending verthatl flanges and a ed for the insertion of bolts to engage it to.y

spring 7 from the. hole 10 or out of engagetop flange connecting said vertical anges, in combination with a base piece lia-ving thereon outwardly extending vertical flanges on which said {i1-st named flanges slide and a bottom ange which covers the lower end of said shoe, and a spring fixed to said base piece between said flanges and adapted for automatically engaging said shoe to fix `said base piece and shoe together.

A letter box havin thereon a shoe with an aperture therein an (marde` on opposite sides of Said aperture, a )ase piece adapted for engaging Said shoe, and fixed to said base piece a Spring having a free end adapted to drop into Said aperture between said guards.

4. A letter hox having thereon aA Shoe with guiding; devices, guards between said devices and a proJee-tion between Said guards, in combination with a base piece havin Uuidin means ada )ted for enea in :a n g n JOSEPH A. "EINMETT Witnesses ROBERT JAMES EARLEY, Jos. G. DENNY, Jr. 

